Friday, 22 August 2014

Our picnic last night was a rousing success, and now we're off to Vancouver for the 3rd annual PNW MQG meetup. Pictures from the picnic will come soon, but in the meantime here is something to peruse.Many thanks to Christine of Sew Bossi for preparing this for us.

One can discuss whether Modern Quilting is actually modern with regards to style and technique. However what is indisputable is how one is able to connect with the quilting community with the aid of social media. Tips and trends are shared instantly. One can influence and be influenced by like minded souls all over the globe thanks to the internet and the different available platforms.

The possibilities are almost endless and one can easily spend hours ploughing through all there is to see. If you are not familiar with the different social media platforms, fear not! The following will give you a preliminary introduction. I will narrow it down to what the modern quilting tribes are using at present.

If you look at the right hand side of our blog page, you will see several orange icons looking like this:

Go to the original icons and click on them. They will direct you to the different social media platforms we have chosen to promote our guild upon or where we have placed inspirational images.

Facebook allows you to find and connect with friends, with whom information can be shared. It also permits groups of people/organisations to create a platform to inform the public or just a select group of people about certain events or general happenings. One can post pictures, videos and articles. Email alerts are available for instant information sharing. Facebook members can normally post comments, show their appreciation for a site by "like"-ing it and encouraging friends to follow. Many "likes" and followers can promote tour guild, for example.

There are other similar platforms out there such as MySpace, but Facebook is most commonly used at present.

Flickr is a picture sharing site. You post pictures that you wish the public or only a select number of people to view. There are different public groups that one can follow, such as the Fresh Modern Quilt group, Pillow Swaps or Doll Quilt challenges, where Flickr members post relevant images to be viewed by larger audiences. One can "favourite" different photos, so that you do not lose track of those amazing inspirational quilts, for example. One can also show one's admiration by leaving a comment.

There are other picture sharing sites such as Picasa, but Flickr seems to attract the quilting crowd.

Instagram is also a picture sharing site, but can only be uploaded through your mobile phone. Selfies rule here! If you are not much into cell phone picture taking, this is probably not the platform for you. However, like Flickr, you can view others' images and get inspired.

Pinterest is like a bulletin board, where you pin pictures that you love. You can have different boards according to category. You can "re-pin" images that are not your own, but one is advised to follow social media etiquette by always indicating the source. Copyright infringement is a hot issue, especially among the Americans.

Twitter permits you to type short comments. This is a media platform upon which interaction is swift and direct. It is very useful when making statements, announcements or to follow certain "important" figures. As this platform generates a lot of traffic, we felt it would be beneficial for the guild to have an account here to promote the guild.

Transit: Your best bet is the #26 which travels along Tillicum, or the #11, which travels along Gorge (you'd have to walk over the bridge to get to the park, ~10 minutes).

Parking: there is lots of spaces for lots of cars.

What to Bring:

A quilt/blanket or chair to sit on

a potluck food item to share with 5-8 people.

Plates, cutlery, napkins and a beverage for yourself. Alcohol is NOT allowed.

Name tag

Michael Miller challenge project * see below for more details

Show and Tell!

HST blocks if you want to hand them in.

Games supplies if you want to participate: a FQ of modern fabric, or solid fabric; a metre of ugly fabric or fabric you don't like anymore; a pair of thread snips might be handy too.

whatever else you need to be comfortable outdoors in the evening.

We will be sharing our Michael Miller Challenge projects at this meeting and we’d like to ask people who have already shared their completed projects to bring them back for a group photo. Members with completed challenge projects will each receive a ticket towards a random prize draw.

Friday, 8 August 2014

Hello everyone - we hope you are having a wonderful August so far. There are a few reminders right now so we thought we'd pop them in a quick post for you.

if you are loaning us a quilt or quilts for our display at Fibrations please drop it off at either Cloth Castle or Satin Moon BEFORE the end of Friday, Aug. 16th.

there was a recent email from the mother MQG about signing up for Quiltcon challenges (bias tape and Michael Miller Spring Cotton Couture). You must sign up via that email - NOT through us at MQG Victoria.

PNW MQG meetup in two weeks - they are now selling tickets to the Saturday Night Social Mixer. Details are HERE and tickets are only 15$ for this fun event (you can pay via paypal from their website). For the mixer to go ahead they need to sell 45 more tickets by Monday night.

UPCOMING EVENTS

November meeting: 7:00 pm, Thursday, November 22 at the Royal Canadian Legion, 411 Gorge Road. Note: this month our meeting will be on the 4th Thursday, rather than the usual 3rd Thursday of the month.